Island Ice Cream Hopes to Strike a Jazzy Note

You can't say Kristin Formolo isn't enthusiastic.

One month after the entrepreneur looked to the park board for preliminary approval to operate an ice cream shop out of the pavilion at plans are well underway to install appliances on the newly-finished floor and walls have been painted. Formolo also outlined plans for the June 22 grand opening, which will begin with a ribbon cutting around 1 p.m. and continue well into the late afternoon.

"I have just been overwhelmed with how generous the community has been in investing their time - I think they all feel invested in this," Formolo said. Domino's will provide pizza in the early offing, and Jimmy John's will supply subs around the supper hour. In addition, librarian Penny Halle will provide a story hour in the park at 2 p.m. Formolo said she is still in search of some music and a bounce house sponsor to provide further entertainment.

With the early buzz created, hours will be expanded from what she thought she would earlier offer, so you can get frozen goodies from 12 to 8 p.m. seven days a week.

And we're not done yet. Formolo introduced the idea of a 'jazz in the park' twice this summer at Idle Isle, probably on Thursday to eliminate any conflicts with Water Bug show and practice schedules. She wanted to have the parks board review the idea before she moved forward so she could anticipate any questions or concerns.

"I think this would not only be good for the ice cream store, but also for the community as a whole," Formolo said.

The board was receptive to the idea, but cautioned that residents have been sensitive to noise in the past and that care would need to be taken in how loud the music is and where speakers are placed.

Craig Anderson, parks director, said proper permits would still be required for any music in the park, and said that similar to the review process that the Water Bugs undergo for their performances, the idea would be revisited at the end of the season.